Whether you’re raising children to follow in your geeky footsteps or just looking to get started in robotics, this new crowdfunded kit may be just the thing you’re looking for. Meet PopPet, the hackable, open source robot kit from Australia.

The cheery little robot looks like a riff on the classic two-wheeled Turtle robot you may remember from elementary school. It’s a beautifully simple Arduino-based kit, and there’s no soldering required to assemble PopPet. Just pop the laser-cut chassis together and fasten with screws, mount the boards, slide the female connectors onto the correct header pins, and connect the power pack. PopPet has a pair of ultrasonic “eyes” to help it detect obstacles and avoid collisions.

It’s also built for easy expansion. You can quickly wire in additional sensors or communications modules — a Bluetooth add-on is being offered as part of the projects stretch funding goals. Want to give your PopPet some personality? Faceplates can be swapped with minimal fuss, and chances are good that you’ll receive a random assortment of three. If you need more options and have access to a 3D printer or laser cutter, all the files you need to produce your own will be provided. All the code that powers PopPet will be open-sourced, too.

PopPet’s up on Kickstarter right now, and it’s the brainchild of 19-year-old Jaidyn Edwards. Edwards started down the road to obtaining a degree in mechatronic engineering, but struggled with the required maths. He wants to share his love for robotics and creating with the world, and he’s clearly not going to let any academic issues get in the way. The Kickstarter campaign is a solid first step to creating his own career in robotics. If PopPet’s a hit — and it has all the makings of a crowdfunding success story — then Edwards may realize his dream sooner than he ever imagined.